As the upcoming 2012 London Summer Olympics approaches, the topic of ambush marketing can’t help but to be raised among corporate sponsors and event organizers. The most recent high-profile case of ambush marketing came during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where official sponsor Adidas was ambushed by Chinese sportswear brand Li Ning. Li Ning, one of China’s greatest athletes was chosen to be hoisted up the Bird’s nest and light the Olympic Cauldron at the opening ceremony, giving his company of the same name a free 10 minute advert across China and the world. Li Ning’s corporate logo already resembles the famous Nike ‘swoosh’, and the company slogan, ‘Anything is Possible’, is similar to the Adidas tagline ‘Impossible is Nothing’.
Some might argue that ambush marketing is just an effective marketing strategy that provides healthy competition. However, I think that ambush marketing is a form of unethical business practice. Ambush marketers are deriving benefits from events without payment and this threatens the integrity of the event. Sponsors are paying a huge sum of money for a privilege that is intended to be an exclusive right and all would be a waste if an ambush marketing incident occurs. Ambush marketing weakens the brand awareness of official sponsors and a risk in losing their customer loyalty. For event organizers, ambush marketing will make it more difficult for them to sell their sponsorships in the future.
I believe ambush marketing should be made illegal and immediate action should be taken against those who practice it. There are limits to the ways we market our brand and it should be done in a fair and ethical way.